Recently, I have noticed that numerous posters and signs have been popping up all across our city informing everyone that our taxes will go up 49% if the proposed plan by our city council to drill two new wells and treatment facilities is approved. I have been attending the town hall meetings and found that this does not seem to be the total truth. There are numerous options that are available to our city council that will bring this figure down for our community property taxpayers. There seems to be a special interest group paying for all these signs. Richard W. Beasley’s name appears as treasurer for this group, but it stated “Paid for by Desal H=2No” on the signs. Who are they, and what do they have to gain?

I am a retired individual, live on a fixed income and realize how hard it would be to have my taxes go up, but I also know what it would do to our city without an adequate water supply. Our property will become worthless, and our business community will dwindle. Right now, we are unable to water our lawns or wash our cars whenever we wish. What would it be like when our water runs out?

After attending two of the town hall meetings, I realized that very few Beeville citizens attended these sessions. There are many facts that everyone should be aware of, and I certainly hope that before you go vote as the special interest group wants you to that you will learn what they are. I implore the Bee-Picayune to publish the comparison statement that was presented at the last town hall meeting. This statement will let our citizens realize that this is the most cost effective plan. Being able to purchase bonds will cost us less than seeking funds from other sources. Whether this bond issue passes or fails, the council will still have to go forward with another similar plan. The council was elected by the citizens of Beeville to provide us with the best solution to the issues of our city. I believe that they have done an outstanding job providing us with a solution to this huge problem.

Be an informed voter, learn the facts and do not let this special interest group lead you towards making a bad decision.

Actually, Mr. Shooter, if you would have thought to check the time stamp of my post, you would have seen it to be done between 11:30 am and 12 noon, which happens to be a lunch break. I fully understand your failure to do so, because that would involve getting all the facts. You get a free pass and a warning ticket this time. Next time, pay attention!

Please don't be ridiculous AvidShooter. Feelark has a laptop, not a lapbottom.

AvidShooter

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May 03, 2013

To contrast points made in your letter:

1. The City has known of the urgency of the water situation since 2009. It has waited until 2013 to address the problem. That is not acceptable. The City should not be rewarded for its inaction by the gift of over $15 million to implement a system that is too expensive and not necessary, vs. other solutions that have been described in detail and would cost less.

2. The City has spent million on parks, to include the recently constructed skate park. If the City has done an outstanding job of confronting our water problem, why did it choose to spend those millions on parks (which ironically, before the recent rains, have been burning to a crisp for lack of irrigation infrastructure to ensure they would stay watered and maintained) rather than devote that money to the number one most urgent situation it has known about since 2009?

3. If the bond does pass and the City is availed of millions of taxpayer dollars, they still don't have a definite plan for implementation of the RO system, drilling of additional wells, and how and where to dispose of the considerable waste that would be removed after the brackish water has been filtered through the RO/desalination system. At the moment, it appears that the destination of that waste material will be the Poesta Creek, which will conduct it eventually into Aransas Bay. From a conservation standpoint, this is terrible. None of the other options for obtaining and delivering water to Beeville require the dumping of any waste, anywhere.

4. An RO system will cost more to build and operate than the proposed plan the City has in its hands. The system will require the employment of personnel, electricity to run it, and more. If the City expects Beeville to pass an expensive bond measure to pay for the system, the residents should receive - BEFORE they vote - a budget detailing the exact cost of the system, both to build and operate. To my knowledge, no such budget exists. This is like a contractor asking you for money to build your house, but with no plans. Nobody in their right mind would do that.

In waiting so long to address the water problem, and in spending precious millions of dollars on comparatively unimportant items such as a skate park rather than the water problem, the City has acted irresponsibly.

So, what is the responsible thing for the City to do? To begin, assemble a citizen's task force composed of residents of the City, who can interact with the City and take responsibility for, and ownership of, decisions that will impact Beeville for decades to come.

The task force and the City need to work together, examining objectively every option available to Beeville, including where to get water and how to pay for it; they need to do so in a spirit of transparency and with regular reports to the public.

That the water situation is urgent is clear; however, the City should not be allowed to use that urgency to force the residents of Beeville into spending more money than is needed. Current and future residents should benefit from well-considered and thoroughly researched plans of action, rather than suffer because of a knee-jerk response to a problem that has been apparent since 2009.

With respect to addressing the water problem, both the City and the residents should act out of knowledge and confidence that they're doing the right thing the right way, rather than acting out of fear that forces the wrong decisions the wrong way.